I saw tubular K-Mebers advertised in jegs.... and I was wondering everybodys thoughts on them. im doing an Lt1 swap if I got a tubular K-Member would i still have to notch the frame for the air conditioning.



Thanks,
----------Matt S.------------

 

I dont know which one is in Jegs but I've been running the PA Racing chrome moly k-member(along with their tubular a-arms and coilovers)for the last 3 years with no problems or complaints to speak of.

I dont know where the a/c on an LT1 would cause a problem so I cant help ya there sry

HTH,
Steve

 

I was looking for Tubular A-Arms, but couldn't find any. Where's you get yours? The K-Member in Jegs is from AJE Racing. It's $459.99.

 

I got all of my stuff direct from http://www.paracing.net/ .

Steve

 

I got one from P. A. Racing for my car and have had no problems with it. My car is for weekends and racing only.

The price has droped a lot on them P.A.s website has them for $250.00 and thats with motor mounts and stock spring mounts.

Link to them http://hstrial-vhouse.homestead.com/our_products.html

Jerry

 

Having orked with BOTH aje and PA Id Go with AJE...the AJE one seems much beefier than the PA one... just seems like a much better design...

I currently have an AJE on mine...no problems...Plus AJE comes with mounting hardware etc... where PA does not...

 

Excuse my ignorance, but what is AJE? Thanks.

 

anthony jones engineering...do a search on the net and you'll find out alot about them. they have been around for a decent time and make very nice units. they are alot more dollar wise but in some instances it may be what you need.

kenwood...what mounting hardware? all i needed were a few bolts which was another $3

i too am running the cm version of pa's tubular setup with the coilover option with no problems. i may be switching back to spring perches only because of my new suspension otherwise i'd recommend it. there are quite a few guys in my area running the same setup in mild steel with no problems as well.

the only thing i have left to do is run a power rack...someday but it's not that improtant right now.



edit: here i did the work for you..... http://www.ajeracing.com/

 

You're the man!! Thanks a lot!:hail:

 

Its not the MONEY...

Its the TIME...

Its stupid to have to remove the K-Member...measure the new one...spec the bolt size, then procure the bolts...then install..

When I do something like that I want to remove the old and Reinstall the new as quick as possible...

In the case of the original PA install I saw go down we got the old K-memeber out...Went to put the new one in...Saw that there was no bolts...Saw that it was 10:00 on a saturday night...Waited untill sunday...went to 2 different hardware stores to get the correct bolts.... Finished it about 2:00 on sunday...

When I did the aje one... I removed the old....Put the new one in...bolted everything back up.... Done in about 40 minutes***minus putting the engine back in...LOL

Just seems like an oversight not to give you the bolts.

Is it a big deal...No not exactly....But for most people who want to install something and get it back together it is... Honestly I have a LIFT so the car could have sat for a YEAR if necessary before getting the bolts...But I would have been pissed if I would have had to have left the thing on jackstands while I went out in search of fasteners...

 

in reply to the LT1 A/C clearance issue, I am planning the same for next winter, and everything I've found so far says it will clear

 

I think Spohn is working on one too, one that will be usable for street duty. But I haven't seen an update as to how far along this project is. Have read that some of the tubular stuff is for drag racing only and will break easily.

I am interested in this as I am getting resistance in talking to shops around where I live about modding the existing crossmember for the A/C. They don't want the liability of messing somehting up. I don't have the equipment, time, or experience to do this myself so it seems my options are a tubular cross member which most people say would allow for the A/C OR go for a Corvette accessory setup which will cost more $$$ and may have other issues. Also, does anyone have any idea how this affects the weight distribution? Assume its lighter than factory K member but how much? I mean if you have to go and get new springs and other stuff it may be better to get a Corvette setup??

Any thoughts?? BTW, I am not looking for a race setup. Just looking for a replacement for a LG4.

 

all of them out there seem to work fine for the street so it doesn't matter.

kenwood i can understand your complaint, i'm sure as you know though that hardly anything for our cars comes with everything you need. if the aje setup did that's great. i happen to have the bolts at the shop which were just a bit longer then stock so it wasn't a problem but i could definately understand not wanting to track them down....maybe the next person to purchase one should say something.

 

I'm waiting on steve spohn to make them. He's still trying to get settled from moving into a new shop. As of monday when I spoke to him, he hadn't started designing them yet, but said he's gonna get to work on them soon. He still plans to have them ready sometime this spring. He is gonna make me a moly one with spring perches that incorporate my Ground Control weight jacks and has a mounting point for my 4th gen steering rack. Plus he's gonna make me a set of matching a-arms with del-a-lum bushings. It's gonna be sweet! Changing plugs/wires and header clearance is gonna be a breeze. Not to mention the weight savings. I can't wait.

If that fell through, I'd look for one of the few road tech x-members that were made and try to buy it off somebody.
If that didn't work.....I'd buy the AJE one.

 

Anybody know what kinda weight differences we're gonna be looking at between stock and either of the tubular ones? Pa's site doesn't have any info on that.

 

Does anyone know how much weight savings there is?? I´m only interested in getting real figures, not estimates please.

"Drain89" - Do you have any pictures of your 4th gen steering setup?

/Anders

 

not enough if that's why your reasons are for purchasing it. if your really worried and your actually drag racing then get chromoly, there is a huge difference then.

 

I agree with kandied....moly is where the real weight savings comes in. I don't remember the exact numbers, the other mfg's are unimportant to me since I'm going with the Spohn version when he gets them done. Also; Using a rack, especially a manual one (but only on drag-only cars) saves more weight. Mine is a street car so that's why I chose a 4th gen steering rack.
I don't have any pictures of mine. It is still off the car since I'm waiting on my x-member to be made.
Steve Spohn is also planning on developing a 4th gen rack kit for our cars, which will work with his x-member kit.

 

Just received my lower a-arms and rack kit from PA Racing today.K-member should be here soon,all chromoly parts.Both arms with perches and ball joints,bump steer kit,steering shaft with both universals weighs in at 16.5 lbs. I bet the K-member is less than 20. I`m using an S-10 manual sterring box now and it`s gotta be the same as the power box.

 

all i can say is it took some effort to throw out my old k member....my girlfriend brought my kmember into the shop after paint with one hand so there is some weight difference.

 

Sounds great - every pound counts..

/Anders

 

BMR also makes the k-member as well as the a-arms.

 

BMR makes ones for 4th gen cars. No 3rd gen version yet.

 

i've seen them...maybe not mass production but a guy had one on his thirdgen at an indoor show last year. awful bulky if you ask me but he was happy.

 

I stand corrected. Was it similar to the road tech one that was once made.

 

i suppose...better looking with a few more triangulated pieces. the car was for road race though and was never used on the street.

 

Interesting, I'll go with it if something happens and spohn doesn't make them....which I doubt.

 

so would going with a PA crossmember be strong and durable for street driving?

 

Oh no, not this debate again...

Chris, you'll see that it depends on who you ask.

 

only people who claim it won't hold up aren't using them....the rest have them on the cars with no complaints?

it's as plain and simple as black and white. yes chris they are fine for street use....if you don't believe me that's fine. however before you make your decision based it on facts and make someone, anyone prove to you how they don't hold up so the rest of us who are using them will know.

anyone who has their doubts come and drive up and check one out for yourself if you doubt the subject as there are many running on the streets and at the track with pa units here in michigan with zero complaints.


i for one am not a pa advocate. i own the setup and it works well for what i wanted so i have no complaints. had someone made a cheaper setup i probably would have went with that. i am an advocate against pushing things with no real facts though. i would love to see someone who has broken a pa racing tubular setup of any kind on the street or otherwise post.......

i have yet to read about any pa unit failing on the street so if those of you who say they won't handle it would be so kind as to prove it i would be very happy.

 

Although PA's unit is probably strong enough to last you forever on the street, it is not recommended if you were ever to do any road racing. I plan on doing some autocrossing with my car, so that is why I'm looking for one that is more reinforced. I realize that it will lose a little bit of weight advantage, but I've made that up in other areas. Food for thought.

 

that's a very good point to make but its based on visual perception. no one has yet to show one broken on a track either although most would agree that in time something that doesn't have as many triangulated braces like the pa would be subjected to much more abuse.

i agree if your going road racing you might want to look into other areas but for the street/strip use and maybe one or two roadracing weekends a year they are fine. i didn't have any problems with mine on a road course but then again i don't do it alot.

use your best judgement i suppose.

 

When I recived my k-member, lower control arms and coil over kit from performance automotive it wieghed 32 pounds exactly(ups shipping wieght with box and a hell of a lot of shreded paper)!

 

I noticed the unit from paracing http://www.paracing.net/
and pro fab racing http://hstrial-vhouse.homestead.com/our_products.html look similar, except the profab racing unit is $130 cheaper. has anyone dealt with pro fab racing? do you guys think its worth spend the extra 130 for going with the pa racing unit?

 

Call Zack or Vernon at Pro Fab and ask them, My stuff is from Pro Fab and not from PA as I said above. It`s quite an interesting story. These guys are great to deal with....got the stuff within a week of ordering (no backup at that time) . I`d call it`s free, here`s a pic

 

that's interesting.....looks identical and the guys names are similar. go with whats cheaper.

 

I am also going with the Pro fab K member. The guys there are helpful. So far good experience with them, but I haven't got the kmember yet.

Anyone got pics of the aje k-member? If so post up please.

 

As far as I know, you don't need to notch anything for an LT1 swap. I think you are thinking of an LS1 swap, in which the A/C compressor is in the way, which requires you to notch the K-member. But I'm 99% sure an LT1 will bolt right in. You will however need custom A/C lines, since the compressor is in a different location on the motor.

 

ward, you do have to have clearance for the LT1.

thats why my friend put in a PA racing k member (and a arms) the other weekend...

as for the mounting hardware... took us all of 20mins to goto the store, get the bolts, and come back. no big deal, its 6 bolts.. all the same size.

i wasnt considering one, but after holding his and his a arms, i want them....:lala:

 

i guess the price went back up

 

Looks like it did, 250 was a deal now it's 350.

Jerry

 

Here is a LINK to a thread on the NSCA forum talking about 3rd gen K-members. Anyone ever heard of Graham Racing, or used any of their products? Judging by the picture in his post, It looks like he makes a pretty decent looking set-up.

 

Here's a picture of the Graham Racing set-up:

 

never seen it on a car but i've heard of it before...uses the same similar style upper plate mount that art morrison uses which is nice for the coilover package. a few issues in itself i wouldn't go with their coilovers or the a arms as they look even smaller then pa's but the k-member looks decent.

i have a hard enough time liking the 3" coilover springs and it looks like they're running smaller then the normal 2.5" dia. which would be really bad for the street. again not that it matters towards the actual k-member....just noticed it.

 

heres the AJE installed on mine!

 

Thanks for the pics fellas. That AJe k member looks stout.

 

I see that the pa k-member seems like a good deal. I was just wondering what kind of horsepower you guys have been making with them. I need to know what kind of power they can handle. If I get them, I don't want them twisting off of something. I'll be mostly drag racing but will drive it on the street on the weekends (to and from the track at least). I should be making 400 rwhp. It might not be alot but just want to make sure.

thanks

 

Well I've got one and am currently at a little over 500 rwhp(650ish at the crank)and around 580 rwtq(700ish at the crank). No problems yet in 3 years and hundreds of passes.


HTH,
Steve

 

that's a funny question seeing as how most of them are on real race cars running alot of horsepower. 400 rwhp is a good number no doubt but it isn't like the 7-800 that alot of these cars are running with.

plenty in that range around here with no problems...unless your pulling 4' wheel stands and jumping ditches how much wear can you put on them?

 

I have got mine in finally. I am hoping it will hold the LS6. It is from Pro-fab.
http://community.webshots.com/album/131030856upsxvS/2
http://community.webshots.com/album/131030856upsxvS/3